Children with DLD
Number skills are essential for educational success and participation in society. Learning the spoken count word sequence (“one”, “two”, “three”…etc.), and learning the association between spoken numbers and written Arabic numerals (e.g. “twenty” = 20), provide the foundations for calculation and all sorts of number skills in everyday life.
Children with developmental language disorders (DLD) frequently struggle to build these basic number skills. We have developed the SWAN app to help with this. It uses gaming technology to enhance learning. A small study with typically developing children showed promising results. We are now working to improve the game and make it suitable for the particular needs of children with DLD.
People with aphasia
Adults who have language difficulties after a stroke often struggle to understand and use numbers. This is a problem because numbers are all around us in everyday life, for example when we use the phone, pay bills or buy a train ticket.
We have developed SWAN which is a game based therapy to rebuild number skills. A smaller study has shown that SWAN can improve basic number skills. We want to extend that study and try out the game with more people.
To find out more, watch the video below.
At the moment we are not looking for people to take part, but please visit our website again to hear about the findings of the project we've finished.
If you would like to be contacted about future projects involving the SWAN therapy game, do get in touch with the project team via email: swanproject@ucl.ac.uk